A recreational rider (a rider not in need of special assistance) has the ability to remain on a horse in an upright position naturally. Most riders 2 through 5 have a strong instinctual urge to protect themselves from falling off when they sit on a horse and they will take defensive action (usually holding on to the saddle) if not given some instruction on correct horsemanship. This age of rider does need a leader and side walker/spotter until around age 6 when they have grown and developed enough to effectively handle a horse no matter how good the horse is. I have a plethora of games and obstacle courses I use for young riders to get repeat practice in correct riding skills without doing the same thing over and over.
To participate in therapeutic riding the student should be able to remain in an upright position without undue effort to assist him/her to stay on the horse. Therapeutic riding programs provide adaptive riding for students with special needs. Riders can receive assistance mounting, assistance from leaders and side walkers while riding and assistance dismounting.
The basic foundation of classical dressage and jumping is the foundation of my lesson program. The way I teach therapeutic horseback riding is not that different from how I teach recreational riders under the age of 6. I highly recommend that TR instructors add to their income by practicing diversity and inclusion by teaching recreational riding also. Balanced seat riding principles are a good foundation for all riders.
Special needs riders may be non-verbal and need to model your demonstration of an instruction or activity, perhaps with hand-over-hand demonstration and multiple prompts to succeed. Riding and social interaction with horses and instructors and volunteers can help a nonverbal student to begin talking.
ALL STUDENTS AGES 2 THROUGH 5 ARE SPECIAL NEEDS RIDERS
Riders with developmental disabilities only and no physical impairment are basically working on motor skill development and deepening the brain/body connection where the information exchange takes place which makes intentional movement happen. This is the same basic skill set that recreational riders ages 2 through 6 are working on with differences in learning speed and core muscle tone and trunk and neck stability. I use brain gym type exercises which develop core muscle strength and deepen the brain-body connection.
Around age 7 recreational riders need more challenging games and exercises to develop horse control at the 3 gates to test and increase the foundational skills. At this point special needs riders continue to increase the same foundational skills with small variations in the physical and cognitive foundation skills in the games and obstacle courses.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THERAPEUTIC RIDING AND HIPPOTHERAPY
Hippo is short for hippocampus which is a Greak word for horse. Hippotherapy is physical therapy using a horse as a dynamic, moving therapy modality. Sessions are conducted by a physical therapist at a horse facility. Clients can be in long term therapy for physical impairments from birth, or for recovery from injuries (including brain injury), seizures, etc. Physical therapy is goal oriented, targeted for specific results and does not necessarily focus on horsemanship.
In therapeutic riding the main focus is the fundamentals of horsemanship which may include steering, horse care knowledge and groundwork skills, showing and competition as with recreational riding lessons, but with adaptations for individual needs and goals and hands on support to reach these goals. Lets not forget the benefits of being outdoors, breathing fresh air, being active and making life-long friends. Therapeutic horseback riding can also be just for fun!
